Here's my story: I'm a tenured college professor in the states, with a background in rhetoric and composition, technical writing, and a number of intro. lite courses: science fiction, American lit, History of English etc.

I recently spent a month in China teaching college professors.

My wife would love to get our family overseas for a few years so our kids could experience life outside the United States. She would rather not go to a country with:

1) terrible air quality (our teen son has asthma, so not Beijing)

2) Anywhere that is under rigidly enforced Sharia law (she doesn't want to feel trapped inside a compound)

3) I have four kids. We'd be willing to pay air fare, but it would be nice to get a little help if that's even a possibility.

4) I don't have any formal ESL certifications, but I've been teaching first year writing to new college students, many of them international, for about ten years.

5) I can get a one-year leave of absence, and possibly extend it, but would plan on returning to my tenured position.

6) My wife has a bachelor's and has been working in the campus writing center for a number of years. She would be happy to tutor on the side.

7) We don't drink or party, really, and are pretty boring. My wife is really attracted to the idea of living in an area that is friendly, both locals and ex-pats from different countries

Wife is obsessed with Australia

So I'm wondering what sort of job I should be applying for, and where might be a good place to apply? The more progressive parts of the ME would be fine, as well as Asia and India. I don't think we could afford most of Europe. She's wavering about China, but I'd love to go there provided we found an area that wasn't too polluted.

I had toyed with the idea of teaching at an International school, but they pretty much told me it wasn't going to happen without a slew of certifications.

Thanks for any suggestions, I'm obviously lacking even the vestiges of a clue.

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 8:12 pm Post subject: Re: College English Teacher: Can I even get work?

craniac wrote:

I have a Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Louisville but no ESL certifications to speak of.

I'm guessing that my best bet would be renewable lecturer positions in the UAE and similar areas.

That makes a huge difference, and frankly, staying in your current field will net you a way better income than you'd get starting out in TEFL. For international uni jobs, check out higheredjobs.com and chronicle.com. Generally, hiring is year round but with the next couple of months hitting peak recruiting for the upcoming academic year.

International schools might be an option. You've got a decent degree and teaching experience though not at primary or secondary level. However, some schools probably would take a look at you.

In some states you can get a provisional education certificate almost just by applying and you'll likely need to do X amount of continuing education to maintain the certification. That certification would help boost your ratings on the international school front.

There are first and second (and even third and fourth) tier international schools and the first tier schools may not be interested, but the second tier schools probably would. Perhaps slightly lower wages and fewer benefits, but once your foot is in the door . . .

An added benefit is that most international schools allow free tuition for the dependents of teachers.

You might take a look at ISS.edu and communicate with someone there. A small initial investment up front but the ROI is probably worth it.

There is a competitor to ISS that I can't recall at the moment, but someone else might suggest it.

The problem with coming out for one year to teach, even if you have a TEFL qualification, is that in the first year of teaching, people typically earn very little, with some accretion towards the end and in subsequent years.

Your biggest strength is your technical writing. You may be able to find yourself a company, probably in a capital city (but watch out for air quality), that wants somebody to check over their websites and other documentation. It might still be a good idea to get some training in so that you could offer business English to such a company as well as the benefit of your literacy skills.

University work teaching English is another option, but I do not know how well this will feed a family..